Hoyer Floor Statement on Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after he spoke on the House Floor in support of the Continuing Resolution. The CR passed the House 260-167, and is now headed to the Senate:

"This piece of legislation will provide for the funding of our government from now until September 30th of this year. Our choice in this divided government is whether we will come together, work together, and try to make the best possible agreement together. I think the American people expect us to do that. As Henry Clay, one of the great Speakers of this House, said: 'If you cannot compromise, you cannot govern.' What he meant was that in a democracy we have different points of views, different perspectives, different priorities. We come from different regions with different interests. And so it should not shock any of us when there is not unanimous agreement. But there does come a time when the American people expect us to act. I will vote for this resolution. I don’t agree with everything that is in it. The priorities in this resolution are not my priorities. But we have reached agreement: the President of the United States, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the House worked for literally weeks to forge an agreement that can fund government for the balance of this year.

"But after we pass this piece of legislation, we will begin a critical debate on the future and the very deep differences between the two parties. We see those differences in the Republican budget for fiscal year 2012, and in the very different vision President Obama laid out yesterday—what I believe is a vision for a fairer, more prosperous, and more fiscally responsible country. But that is a debate for another day. I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution and keep our government functioning."